What to know about new Marlins pitching prospect Valente Bellozo

[Ely Sussman]

The Mexican right-hander comes to the Marlins after having spent his entire minor league career in the Houston Astros organization. 

So the Miami Marlins did get something in return after curiously designating shortstop Jacob Amaya for assignment: 24-year-old right-handed pitcher Valente Bellozo and cash considerations. Can Bellozo eventually contribute for them in the majors? The odds of that seem relatively low at first glance, but he does have a fascinating background.

The short righty signed with the Astros in 2017 as a 17-year-old international amateur free agent out of Mexico. Listed at 5'10", 170 pounds at the time, Bellozo more recently tipped the scales at 208 pounds.

Initially, Bellozo's MiLB performance was excellent. He posted a 1.74 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in the 2018 Dominican Summer League, then followed that up with comparable Short Season A/Low-A results (1.70 ERA and 0.81 WHIP). In a larger sample of Low-A action in 2022, he had less luck on balls in play, but a near-identical 1.73 ERA. Through 158 ⅔ innings pitched across those three seasons, he yielded only one home run.

The 2023 season was a new challenge for Bellozo in terms of both quality of competition and workload, and he struggled. In 13 appearances from April through June, he carried a 7.71 ERA at High-A, largely because opponents slugged .568 against him. However, he settled in nicely during the latter half of the season (3.31 ERA and .399 SLG) while also getting his feet wet at Double-A.

This winter, Bellozo was a reliever for his hometown winter ball team, Águilas de Mexicali. Overall, he pitched 134 innings in 2023.

Bellozo has a deep arsenal that includes a sinker, four-seam fastball, slider, curveball and changeup. He just lacks a true plus pitch and has to make do with below-average velocity and extension.

There appears to be minimal upside in this trade from the Marlins' perspective when you also account for the fact that Bellozo is due to become a minor league free agent after the 2024 season unless selected to the 40-man roster.

Bellozo has been assigned to Double-A Pensacola. He isn't ranked on our Fish On First Top 30 prospects list.

 

 

 

 

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